A new article published by the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), recommends that patients seeking treatment for low back pain try chiropractic care before resorting to surgery. Part of a series of recent public education efforts by JAMA, the low back pain article walks patients through the basic spine and soft tissue structures of the back and explains how back pain can be a result of injury to any of these structures. The article also discusses certain recommended low back pain treatment options and points out that many individuals can benefit from conservative chiropractic care. They additionally state that surgery is usually only necessary when other more conservative treatments fail. In reaction, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) publicly reinforced their long standing position that chiropractic and other conservative care options should serve as a first line of defense against back pain. Moreover, previous research shows chiropractic care for back pain as being more cost effective than conventional surgical and drug therapy approaches, saving already overburdened patients and care providers millions annually.

After analyzing three years of Washington state’s workman compensation disability claims for back injuries, researchers have concluded that patients who first consulted a surgeon as compared with those who first consulted a chiropractor were 28 times more likely to undergo surgery. The study, published in the May issue of the medical journal Spine, noted that only 1.5 percent of the chiropractic patients went on to require back surgery to treat their injuries compared with 43 percent of those patients who first visited with a surgeon. While agreeing that a small percentage of patients will require surgical treatment, medical experts recommend that most patients with back injuries begin with non-invasive treatments, like chiropractic before going under the knife. Spinal surgery carries serious risks including paralysis, pulmonary embolism, and even death - a true risk with any surgery requiring general anesthesia. If you are suffering from a back injury, give chiropractic a try before considering invasive treatments such as surgery.

A recent study compiling seven years of data from back pain patients who undergo lumbar surgery finds they have a high risk of developing post-surgical pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. Pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis are serious, potentially life threatening complications following orthopedic procedures including back surgeries. The study, conducted by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, analyzed the medical records of over a half million patients who underwent lumbar fusion or lumbar decompression procedures between 2002 and 2009. Deep vein thrombosis, also called deep venous thrombosis, is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, predominantly in the legs. Signs of a thrombosis may include pain, swelling, redness, warmness, and engorged superficial veins. Pulmonary embolism, a potentially life-threatening complication, is caused by the detachment (embolization) of a clot that travels to the lungs. The researchers pointed out that increased risk factors for developing post-surgical pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis include pulmonary circulation disorders, coagulopathy, fluid/electrolyte disorders, anemia, and obesity.

New research in Australia confirms the advice of many dermatologists to their patients - to avoid the aging effects of the sun on your skin, use sunscreen. While the benefits of sunscreen are well known when it comes to preventing sunburns and lowering the risk of skin cancer, researchers said rigorous studies were previously lacking on how sunscreen use affects the signs of skin aging, or photoaging. Photoaging happens after long-term exposure to ultraviolet radiation, which penetrates the skin and can cause collagen to break down and DNA to mutate. Long term effects of photoaging include wrinkles, leathery skin tone, loss of the skin's elasticity and spider veins. The new study, conducted at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research analyzed data from 903 adults younger than 55 who were followed between 1992 and 1996. Half of the participants were instructed to put sunscreen of SPF 15 or greater on their head, neck, arms and hands every morning, and to reapply when necessary. The other half used sunscreen according to their own discretion. At the start and end of the study, the researchers measured photoaging using the skin on the back of each person's left hand. The researchers found that over four years, the skin condition of people who were told to use sunscreen daily evidenced no detectable changes, once other sun-related factors were taken into account. Beta carotene, which was also given to some of the participants, did not seem to have any protective effect on skin aging, however.